Melania Trump's meme coin team sold $30M in tokens amid stock market crash after tariffs announcement

WASHINGTON, DC: The team behind first lady Melania Trump's meme coin "MELANIA," which was launched in January 2025, "quietly sold" tokens worth $30 million amid the stock market crash following President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement, according to the Irish Star.

The coin was worth $13.69 at its peak on January 20, but its value later slumped as low as $0.60 on March 30. 

Melania Trump's meme coin 'quietly sold' for $30 million in tokens

A blockchain analysis firm, Bubblemaps, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, April 7, "Huge sell-offs on $MELANIA $30M was moved from community funds — and is now being quietly sold, with no explanation from the team."

A following post further mentioned, "No one from the MELANIA team has addressed this. Not the movements. Not the selling. If it’s the team behind it, why stay silent? If it’s Hayden Davis, why hasn’t anyone stepped in?"

Bubblemaps explained that 50 million "MELANIA" tokens were funneled to the wallet "Cq2Tj6" and then split across multiple addresses.

Interestingly, more than $3 million was sent to centralized exchanges, two new $6 million positions were opened, and $500,000 has already been sold, per the outlet.

The news comes as a blow to the first lady, who announced her new venture in January, per the Irish Star.

"MELANIA" comes under the category of meme coins, a peculiar and highly volatile segment of the crypto industry.

A meme coin often starts as a joke with no real value but can skyrocket in price if enough people are willing to buy them. 

The POTUS has also leaned into cryptocurrency-related projects, and his Trump meme coin shot up in price to nearly $70 shortly after its launch. However, it has since dropped to about $12, per the outlet.

Several researchers have estimated that trading fees have generated tens of millions of dollars for those who launched the coin, including a company owned by the MAGA leader.

Donald Trump says 'people were getting yippy' as he takes back tariffs

After announcing a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, "Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line."

He added, "They were getting yippy, you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did. No other president. And it had to be done."

He later added that "you have to have flexibility" in policies.

Notably, the pause in reciprocal tariffs took place days after the White House dismissed speculation about such a move.

Trump's administration said that the POTUS will not negotiate. However, the announcement by Trump on Wednesday sent the stock market rocketing.

Interestingly, Trump announced that the tariffs on China will be increased to 125 percent from 104 percent.

He wrote in a Truth Social post, "Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately."

"At some point, hopefully, in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the USA, and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable," Trump added. 

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